This disclosure relates to the measurement of liquid levels in recreational vehicle wastewater holding tanks.
Many recreational vehicles (such as campers, trailers, fifth wheelers, and motor homes) have one or more tanks for storing the effluent or wastewater originating in the toilet, sink, or shower. These tanks are typically called black water or gray water tanks. The effluent stored in black water and gray water tanks can easily clog or render inoperable a liquid level measurement apparatus or sensors that are inside or attached directly to the tank and in direct contact with the wastewater. Examples of typical in-tank direct wastewater measurement devices are ones that use conductance, capacitance, floats, or other direct means for measuring the liquid level. Despite the numerous cleaning methods and chemicals that have been developed, many of the existing wastewater level measuring methods and systems can fail within several weeks, resulting in the owner of a recreational vehicle draining the wastewater tank or tanks too frequently or running the risk of a tank overflow.
Modern recreational vehicles often have a plurality of wastewater holding tanks. There are normally separate tanks for black water (human waste from the toilet) and gray water (waste water from the kitchen sink and/or shower). There may be a second gray water tank for effluent specifically from a shower. Recreational vehicles also have one or more fresh water tanks. The black water, gray water, and freshwater tanks are typically located under the floor of the recreational vehicle and between the I-beam supports that run longitudinally under the floor of the vehicle from the front to the back. In newer recreational vehicles, the tanks are often insulated from the outside environment, making it difficult to access the tanks and difficult to access and replace any failed or fouled liquid level sensors installed in or on the tanks.
A system and method for measuring the level of liquid in a recreational vehicle tank that does not require physical access to the recreational vehicle tank or tanks is desired. The system or method should not be located on or in the wastewater tank. In the aftermarket, it is desirable if the system is user installable (and detachable) and doesn't require special tools.
It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale. In certain instances, details that are not necessary for an understanding of the invention or that render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein.